Please Be Careful
by 206
Summary: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE END OF SEASON 5! My version of the end of the season.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I will update Physical Evidence soon, have a couple chapters almost done for it. I really should be working but I am a spoiler junkie and I looked and this just came to mind. MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE END OF THE SEASON!!!!!!!!! Hope you enjoy.  
**

Cam sat down next to a dejected looking Booth; before she even had a chance to ask what was wrong he spoke,

"Bones is leaving for a year." His voice was strangled and hoarse and it was obvious to his long time friend that he was trying to hold back a strong wave of emotions.

"She told me she was thinking about it." Cam replied.

"We got split up." Booth let out a shaky breath.

"Why?" Booth shrugged.

"Honestly? I'm gonna guess unprofessional behavior on my part…Caroline said she's pretty sure this was our last case together; she said that the way we're running from each other, this was our last case together." Cam sat silently, not knowing what to say. It seemed like everything was falling apart. Hodgins and Angela were planning on taking a six month honeymoon around Europe and Dr. Brennan was planning on going away for a year.

"Did you tell Dr. Brennan that you're in love with her?" Cam asked finally. Booth lowered his head.

"Not in so many words but she knows."

"Did you ask her to stay?"

"No. Bones lives for stuff like this Cam. I can't ask her to sacrifice it for me. Ancient remains are the reason she became a forensic anthropologist." Again Cam didn't know how to respond. Placing a hand on his arm she sat with him in silence.

------

"Hey Sweetie." Angela said walking into her best friend's office where she was packing up her stuff.

"Hey Ange." Brennan responded as she put a few more things into a box.

"So you're really leaving for a year huh."

"Yes. This is an excellent opportunity and I will be able to work with ancient remains again. It's been a long time since I've been able to get back to my real passion." She paused for a moment before continuing.

"Plus the FBI split Booth and I up, which is why I have the time to pursue this amazing experience."

"Why did they split you up?" Angela asked sitting down on Brennan's couch.

"Obviously they felt that our partnership was no longer valuable and had a problem with the way we were conducting our investigations." Brennan responded coldly.

"Ya, that's what it was" Angela muttered under her breath.

"How'd Booth take it when you told him you were leaving?" Angela asked tentatively a few minutes later.

"He took it…like Booth" Brennan said distractedly as her heart clenched.

"He didn't ask you to stay?"

"No. He agreed that it would be a great opportunity for me to get back to my real passion." Angela shook her head in disappointment.

"Sweetie, did you tell him that you love him?"

"No…well not with those words but he knows." Brennan replied. Angela didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell Brennan not to go – Brennan loved ancient remains, plus she wasn't even going to be here for six months. Angela could hear Booth's voice in her head when she and Hodgins announced their honeymoon plans _you're splitting up the team? _

"We're Booth's people" Hodgins mumbled to himself as he sat at the diner with Sweets.

"What?" Sweets asked, he had been moping for days.

"We're Booth's people." Hodgins repeated a little louder. "Me, Angela, Cam, You, the interns, Dr. B. We're his people. And we're leaving."

"I'm not leaving." Sweets said defensively. "You and Angela and Dr. Brennan are leaving. Cam and I are staying here!"

"Sweets do you have daddy issues or something cause you're acting like a just insulted your father." Sweets clenched his teeth and took a deep breath.

"Oh…sorry." Hodgins said quietly.

"I'm just saying that Dr. Saroyan and I are staying here. The interns are not working during the summer and Dr. Brennan is running away. Booth promised her he would never leave her and she's running away. Mind you, Booth isn't running in the right direction either. But they both have such fear of abandonment and of getting hurt that they can't allow themselves to be happy. Instead they just decide its better to be totally miserable apart. How stupid is that? It all just totally sucks." Sweets sat looking at the table while Hodgins watched him.

"It'll work out Sweets."

"You don't know that." Sweets replied, thinking he sounded a lot like Brennan. "You and Angela could decide to extend your honeymoon. You could decide to move to some other place. Dr. Brennan could decide not to come back after a year. What are the rest of us supposed to do here?"

"Cam will get temporary replacements for all of us. Clark probably for Dr. B and the FBI will give Booth a new partner."

"It just sounds wrong." Sweets commented.

"Things change Sweets. That's life."

"Ya I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it though."

"I have to go pick up Angela. See you later Sweets." Hodgins left some bills on the table before leaving.

------

"So...all ready to go?" Booth asked Brennan as he leaned against the doorframe of her apartment. Brennan nodded.

"Yes."

"Good…that's good" Booth said lamely. They couldn't meet each other's eyes. Booth helped her bring her bags down and for once Brennan didn't admonish his Alpha Male behaviour, even if he wished she had.

"You'll call right. When you land?" Booth said trying to prolong the moment he would have to let her leave. They were standing at the security entrance; passengers only beyond that point.

"It will most likely be an inconvenient time for you because of the time difference." Brennan explained weakly.

"Please call me." Booth said, trying but failing to keep the emotions out of his voice.

"It's only a year Booth."

"Only a year." Booth swallowed. They stood looking at each other.

"I should go Booth."

"Ya…ya…the line's getting kinda long." Their hug was quick and awkward, nothing like the 'guy hugs' they had shared in the past and that they both missed.

"Bye Booth."

"Bye Bones." He watched as she walked towards the long line of people waiting to go through security.

"Bones!" He called. He walked quickly over to her.

"If I had asked you to stay, would you have stayed?" The words came tumbling out because he could stop himself. Brennan observed him for a moment.

"I think I probably would have. But you know me and you know how much I love ancient remains. It's why you didn't ask me to stay?" She framed it as a question and he nodded, reassuring her that he did indeed know her very well. Booth pulled her into a tight hug, making it very clear that he never wanted to let go; Brennan returned the hug with just as much enthusiasm.

"Please be safe Bones." He whispered into her ear.

"I will." Brennan blinked back the tear that was threatening to fall before she pulled away.

"I'll be back in a year." She reassured him; she kissed his cheek and then passed through the door to the security area. Booth was left standing in the middle of the busy airport.

"A year."

As Booth walked out of the airport distracted by thoughts of his partner he failed to notice the man in a dark suit tracking him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and story alerts and favorites :) I am going absolutely crazy with all the spoilers, April (and May for that matter) cannot come fast enough! Enjoy!**

Brennan sat in her seat on the airplane staring out the window.

"A whole year" she mumbled to herself.

"Excuse me?" The woman sitting next to her asked.

"Oh, sorry I had not intended on speaking aloud." Brennan responded before picking up her book and attempting to read, even though she couldn't focus on the words.

-------

Booth sat in his SUV for a half hour after leaving the airport. He felt hollow but as though something heavy was pressing against his chest at the same time. His cell rang, startling him out of his self-pitying ravine.

"Booth….yes sir…yes….ok." Booth sighed as he closed his phone. Bones' plane had probably not even taken off yet and he was supposed to start a new case without her. The thought made him feel sick. Composing himself he called Cam.

"Saroyan"

"Cam, you got a replacement for Bones?"

"Clark should be arriving soon. Why? Is there a body?"

"Ya" He felt bad that his dejected tone had more to do with the fact that Bones wasn't working the case with him and less to do with the victim.

"Send us the location, we'll meet you there." Cam said, not commenting on his tone.

"Jack, you ready to go?" Angela asked smiling.

"We can't leave yet." Jack sighed.

"What? Why not?" Hodgins didn't have a chance to respond before Clark and Cam walked through the doors of the lab following a body. Angela groaned.

"That's not fair."

"Cam doesn't have replacements for us yet. We have to help."

"Ok people, let's try to get this one done as quickly as possible." Cam said as they all gathered on the platform.

"Thanks Cam." Angela said gratefully. Cam gave her an odd look before remembering that they were going on their honeymoon.

"You weren't saying that for us were you." Hodgins smirked as he pulled on some gloves.

"No, sorry. I think Booth needs a couple days off." Cam explained.

"That bad?" Hodgins asked concerned.

"Well it's not good." Clark absentmindedly nodded in agreement.

"Maybe we should postpone our honeymoon for a couple weeks?" Angela offered.

"No. No, Booth wouldn't want you to do that. Go and have fun. But after this case."

-----------

"Booth" Assistant Director Hacker walked into Booth's office.

"Assistant Director Hacker." Booth said trying hard not to clench his teeth; he was not in the mood to deal with Hacker at the moment.

"Temperance is gone." Hacker started,

"Thanks, I didn't know that" Booth responded sarcastically before he could help himself.

"You know there was a reason that I decided it was best to split you guys up." Hacker said seriously. Booth just nodded.

"I came to ask if you were ready for a new partner. I have had several agents come and request to be your new partner. You're very popular." He tried to be lighthearted.

"My partner left less than three hours ago. No, right now I do not want a new partner. I will continue to be the liaison to the Jeffersonian and work with the squints."

"Ok, but you know most field work requires a partner."

"I didn't have a partner before Bones for almost a year and I was out in the field all the time." Hacker realized that it was not the time to talk to Booth about a new partner. He was clearly mourning his partnership with Dr. Temperance Brennan. Hacker felt a small pang of guilt for going after Temperance as he did.

"This is a list of the agents who asked to work with you. If you want to have someone out in the field with you at any point, any of them would be happy to accompany you." Booth nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"Sir."

"Yes, Agent Booth."

"After this case is finished, I am going to take my vacation." Booth said, getting up and gathering the files he needed before leaving. Hacker watched him go.

-----------

"Ok squints what do you have for me?" Booth asked as he trudged up onto the platform.

"The victim is Randall Flemming, 38 former…Booth are you ok?" Angela began,

"Randall Flemming?" Booth asked, his face going pale.

"Yes…" Angela looked down at the file for confirmation.

"Damn it!"

"Booth?" Angela tried. Cam shook her head.

"He was an old army buddy of mine. We worked two cases in Kosovo together."

"At least this day can't get any worse" Hodgins said trying to lighten the mood. Booth rolled his eyes.

"Clark what's the cause of death?"

"It appears to be a gun shot wound to the head. Dr. Saroyan found a bullet in his brain." He pointed to a hole in the skull. Booth took a look.

"Can I see the bullet?" Cam walked over to him and held up the petri dish that contained the bullet.

"Crap" He said.

"What?" Cam asked, looking down at the bullet.

"This day just got worse." He stomped down the steps of the platform and hurried out the door.

-----------

"Cam we have another body. Same place." Booth said into his phone before hanging up. He had a list of all the people he had gone on sniper missions with.

Randall Flemming – Deceased

Roger Burke – Alive

Anthony Di Pietro – Alive

Samuel Rogers – Alive

Edward Parker – Deceased

They had all been in the same unit together, and they had all worked with him personally as his spotter. Booth sighed and got out of the SUV.

The squints identified Roger Burke a couple hours later.

"Are you ok Booth?" Sweets asked as he stood beside the increasingly angry special agent.

"Two of my old friends have died in the last two days and my…Bones is in some god forsaken land looking at ancient remains and forgetting to call me when she lands. Of course I'm fine." Sweets winced at the harsh sarcasm.

"You know if you want to talk –"

"Sweets, right now I just want to go call up the rest of the people on this list that aren't dead and make sure that they stay that way."

Cam came to stand next to Sweets and they watched Booth make his way out of the lab.

"He isn't safe. Someone is trying to get to him." Sweets said to her. Cam nodded.

"He won't want protection. He is the protector." She said.

"He has a protector whether either of the realize it or not, unfortunately she is on the other side of the world."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks everyone for the reviews, alerts and favorites, so glad you like it. Enjoy!**

When Brennan got off the plane she had immediately turned on her phone with every intention of calling Booth, she had promised. Her finger had hovered over the two on her phone (speed dial for Booth) but she had been unable to press it. She knew that if she had heard his voice at that moment, she would have jumped on a plane back home.

---------

Booth sat miserably in his office, it had been a hectic two days; two of his old army buddies had been murdered, he had agents following two others along with Parker and a very angry Rebecca. He had tried calling Bones multiple times only to get her answering machine.

"You should go home and get some sleep." Angela said as she entered his office.

"Cause I'd definitely be able to sleep if I went home" Booth responded sarcastically.

"I'm sorry Angela" He said a moment later, rubbing his hands over his face.

"It's okay Sweetie. You're tired and mourning."

"I'm sorry you have to postpone your honeymoon again." He said sincerely.

"It's okay" Angela sat down across from him.

"Cam, Clark and Jack are still at the lab. We'll figure out who is doing this, like always."

"They can go home. I know who is behind this; I just don't know how to get them." Booth sighed.

"You know who committed the murders?" Angela asked in shock.

"Its classified information Angela."

"So it's connected to your past as a sniper then?"

"Ya, it's my fault."

"What? No. That's not what I meant" Angela said hurriedly.

"I know, but it is my fault. If it wasn't for me those two men would still be alive."

"It's not your fault Booth." Angela said helplessly. They sat in silence for a moment before Booth asked the question that had been on the tip of his tongue for the past two days.

"Have you heard from Bones?" Angela visibly deflated.

"No, I haven't." At his sad nod she continued, "You know her, she probably got off the plane and was hip deep in remains within an hour. She probably just forgot."

"Ya…ya." Booth said absently.

"She is coming back Booth." Angela said reassuringly.

"A lot can happen in a year." Booth responded.

----------

It took three days for Brennan to work up the courage to call Booth.

"Booth." His aggressive response took her by surprise.

"Hey Booth."

"Bones!" His tone changed instantly, becoming gentle and tender, it threatened to overwhelm her.

"What took you so long to call? You promised to call when you landed! Are you okay?"

"Booth calm down. I am fine; I've just been very busy here." There was a beat of silence.

"How are you?" She asked.

"Fine. Got a grizzly case. I wish you were here."

"Is Clark not performing satisfactorily?" Brennan asked concerned.

"He's fine Bones, he's just not my partner."

"Technically you don't have a partner Booth. We got split up."

"Thanks for the reminder Bones. I just mean I wish you were here." Brennan didn't respond, if she was honest and reciprocated his statement with, "I wish I was too" it would give her a reason to go back.

"Bones?"

"Yes?"

"…Never-mind, listen I have to go, can I call you later?"

"Of course, bye Booth."

"Bye Bones, please be careful." They stayed listening to each other breathe for a few moments before hanging up. A minute later her phone rang.

"Booth?" Her heart started pumping faster.

"No Sweetie, it's me."

"Hi Ange."

"Sweetie, did you call Booth?" Brennan did not expect this to be Angela's first question.

"Yes I just got off the phone with him. Is he okay Ange?"

"Not really Sweetie." Angela hesitated a moment before continuing. "This case…there are two victims; both were army buddies of his. And he says that he knows who's behind it but that it's classified so he can't tell us and he's saying the deaths are his fault."

"He often blames himself unnecessarily. I believe it is part of his Catholic upbringing, although I fail to see how he should be held responsible for something that is completely out of his control." Brennan said sighing.

"He's not taking you being gone very well either Bren."

"He worries unnecessarily also. He is such an alpha male. I am fine; I am safer here than I am when I go to Guatemala." Brennan couldn't help the internal chuckle at Booth's alpha male tendencies.

"Bren do you…do you think that maybe it was a mistake for you to leave?" Angela whispered into the phone. The honest answer was yes.

"No. This is a great opportunity and Booth understands that."

"Sweetie" Angela sighed "I really think Booth could use you here."

"He told me that Clark was doing a satisfactory job so I see no reason to -"

"Brennan! I am not talking about him needing you as a scientist; I am talking about him needing you as a friend."

"He has Cam and You and Hodgins and Sweets." Brennan responded logically.

"And you know that he would much rather just have you than all of us without you. We aren't offended by that Sweetie." Brennan didn't respond.

---------

"Did you get a hold of Dr. Brennan?" Sweets asked as Angela came out of her office.

"Yes. And she is being her stubborn self insisting that there is no reason for her to come back." Angela huffed.

"Right, Booth is heading for a major breakdown, totally not something to worry about." Sweets muttered. Cam and Hodgins exchanged a glance.

"He's not going to do anything stupid is he?" Angela asked a little while later as they began to pack up their things.

"Oh, he'll probably do something stupid because he'll think its heroic or the right thing to do." Cam said zipping up her jacket.

"Did he give any of you any information?" Hodgins asked exasperated, "It's hard to work on a case when we aren't allowed to even understand the significance of our own findings."

"It's classified information." Cam sighed.

-----------

Booth was standing at the crime scene looking into the darkness. He knew the man would come. Booth had left a bunch of letters addressed to specific people on his kitchen counter in case he didn't come back from this meeting. He had had a long talk with Parker this evening and had made sure he had talked to everyone in the lab today. Bones hadn't answered her cell phone.

"Sergeant Seeley Booth" a cold voice said as the man in the dark suit walked out from behind the trees.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks again to everyone for reading! Glad you are liking it. Enjoy!**

After her conversation with Angela, Brennan had begun to be fully honest with herself. The dig was an amazing opportunity and she should have been ecstatic to be there, but she wasn't. Of course she had always missed Booth and the others when she had gone on digs in the past, but she had always returned after a few weeks. A year was a long time. There was so much that could happen in a year. With a pang she had remembered that Sully was only supposed to be away for a year, he had yet to return to DC. Brennan had panicked she be thought of not returning home, that there might be some force that would keep her away. She had been unable to concentrate at all that day, being thankful she could still blame jetlag when the other scientists commented. At the end of the day she had checked her phone. A missed call from Booth. He had said he was going to call her. Brennan sighed and listened to the message.

"Hey Bones….I…." She heard him breathe loudly into the phone "I miss you. I gotta go. Please be careful Bones." There was something in his voice that made her panic. Her heart began to beat faster and she could feel the excess adrenaline entering her system.

---------

"Dr. Sweets what can I do for you?" Assistant Director Hacker asked as the tall baby-faced shrink entered his office.

"Sir I was wondering if I could have access to Agent Booth's personal file." Sweets asked in his most confident tone.

"You already have access to his file, you're his shrink." Sweets sighed; he hated being called a shrink.

"Psychologist, yes. But I am aware that there is certain information that I have not been allowed to see and I feel as though I need to review that information at the moment." Sweets made sure to use his strict psychologist voice.

"Booth's file has some really confidential stuff in it Dr. Sweets. It has stuff in it from his time in the army, even I don't have full clearance for it and I'm his boss." Hacker responded jovially.

"Yes sir, I am aware of that…" Sweets hesitated a moment. "You have contacts in the White House, I'm sure that you could acquire the file."

"Dr. Sweets, why is it so important that you have access to Agent Booth's full personal file?" Hacker asked seriously.

"I believe that there is something in his file that pertains to his current case. He told Angela, Ms. Montenegro that he knew who was behind it he couldn't say anything else because it's classified information."

"He can request to have his own file. I'll talk to him and ask him to get it. If it's for the case then I don't see the harm."

"Thanks, sir." Sweets asked relieved. He didn't like the fact that he was essentially going behind Booth's back, but Booth was not being entirely cooperative or rational at the moment and he just wanted to help. As he turned to leave Hacker stopped him.

"Dr. Sweets."

"Yes?"

"What is your professional opinion of how Agent Booth is dealing with Temperance being gone?" Hacker asked concerned. Sweets mulled over the question for a moment.

"In my professional opinion, Agent Booth is not dealing with her being gone very well. The additional stress from a case as huge as this one coming so shortly after his partner, or former partner left has not allowed him to grieve the partnership and attempt to move on. Personally, I think that he should be entitled to some time off to sort through everything once this case is over." Sweets said in his full psychologist voice.  
"Thank you Dr. Sweets." Hacker said, sitting back down in his seat, he had figured as much.

"I supported the decision to split them up" Sweets continued after a moment. "I believed that they needed to take a step back from their partnership and surrogate relationship in order to decide what they truly wanted from each other." He paused, "However, now that they aren't partners anymore and Dr. Brennan is gone I am feeling as though it might not have been the best decision." Hacker looked at him for a moment before responding.

"They weren't being very professional. My concern is about their ability to do their jobs, well mostly, Agent Booth's ability to do his job. Temperance was becoming a distraction for him."

"Dr. Brennan did not hinder his abilities as an investigator. Agent Booth tends to downplay his intelligence significantly. They were an amazing team. But you are right, they weren't strictly professional." Hacker nodded at Sweets. Sweets walked back to the door intending on leaving when he felt the need to voice one more thought.

"Sir?"

"Yes Dr. Sweets?"

"I would try to refrain from referring to Dr. Brennan as Temperance, especially in front of Agent Booth." Hacker nodded again,

"Sure thing." With that Sweets left the office. Booth wasn't taking Dr. Brennan's absence very well but Sweets wasn't taking their separation easily either. He felt as though his parents were splitting up, and he didn't want to lose either of them.

-----------

"Cam stop!" Angela said.

"What?"

"You've been looking at your watch so often today it looks like you have a twitch." Angela explained.

"Oh sorry." Cam replied stripping off her gloves "Has anyone seen or heard from Booth today?" She asked.

"No actually I haven't." Angela said.

"Come to think of it neither have I." Hodgins said. "How much you wanna bet Sweets had him in his office trying to get him to talk?" he added with a laugh. Angela and Cam chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Sweets asked as he swiped his card and walked onto the platform.

"Where's Booth?" Cam asked.

"I thought he was here." Sweets responded wiping the smiles off everyone's face. They all looked at each other uneasily.

---------

Brennan took her time getting from the airport to her apartment. She wanted to plan out everything she was going to say to Booth when she saw him. Even during her most hectic days as a student she had never felt as cognitively exhausted as she did when thinking about all her emotions in relation to Booth. She had come to a conclusion. After dropping her bags off at home, she made her way to the lab. Both Angela and Booth had said the case was a hard one, literally and emotionally. Brennan entered the lab, and even though she had been gone less than a week, it still uplifted her spirits to be back.

"Dr. Brennan?" Cam asked confused as she saw her.

"Hi Cam." Brennan responded politely, although all she wanted to do was find Booth.

"What are you doing here?" Cam asked as they walked towards the platform where the others were gathered. Brennan scanned the platform for Booth's form but he was not there. Disappointment filled her.

"I decided to come back early."

"I can see that. But um, you haven't even been gone a week."

"I know." Brennan sighed, she could give Cam a long excuse about how there was a logical reason for her to come back after only a few days but instead she found herself telling the truth.

"I couldn't stay away Cam. I needed to come back. I shouldn't have gone in the first place." Cam nodded at her in understanding.

"Bren!" Angela exclaimed excitedly as they stepped onto the platform. "Sweetie, you listened to me, you came back!"

"Admittedly, after our conversation I was more inclined to come back, but I didn't make the decision until I got a voicemail from Booth. I assumed with such a difficult case he would be here." Brennan looked around at all of her friends.

"He's not here." Hodgins spoke up when no one said anything. "We haven't seen or heard from him all day." Brennan's eyes went wide and her heart began to race. She briefly thought about how many times her heart rate had increased so dramatically over the last few days and wondered if there would be repercussions.

"Where is he?"

"We don't know." Sweets answered solemnly.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks everyone for reading. This is turning out longer than I anticipated. :P Enjoy!**

Booth surveyed the room as he followed the man in the dark suit inside.

"Pipes, how original." He said sarcastically. The man in the dark suit shrugged.

"Whatever works." He responded coldly. Booth had already handed over his gun and allowed the man in the dark suit to pat him down. He was hoping for a rational conversation (and thanked God that he had spent so much time with Bones).

"You didn't torture Flemming and Burke, just a shot to the head." Booth stated as he ran his right hand over a thin pipe – those were the worst.

"They were merely accomplices, following your orders." The man in the dark suit said.

"I was just following orders."

"No you weren't. I know the facts. You do what you want. You didn't need to kill my father but you did." The man in the dark suit's voice faltered for the first time.

"His name was on the list, I was following orders." Booth repeated.

"No, I saw that list, his name wasn't there. You just figured that one more of us dead wouldn't matter. That it wouldn't matter that you killed a boy's father because you were just protecting your country. I was twelve when you killed my father."

"How'd you find out that it was me?"

"You killed almost fifty men; you're famous in certain circles. It wasn't that hard to find out. Money goes a long way."

"I guess it would be useless for me to say I'm sorry about your father." Booth sighed sadly, his hopes of having a rational conversation flying out the window.

--------

Brennan let herself into Booth's apartment. She was still furious that their friends had failed to keep an eye on him during a case like this. They had told her everything they knew, which wasn't much and she had left the lab after giving them detailed instructions on what to look for in the evidence that she believed could be useful. His apartment seemed unnaturally quiet as she entered; it was also messier than usual. Booth had obviously been taking out his frustration on inanimate objects. Brennan did a quick tour of his apartment to confirm that he wasn't there and ended in the kitchen. Her hand ghosted over the letters resting on the counter: Camille, Angela, Hodgins, Sweets, Parker, Bones. Her heart leapt into her throat at the implication of the letters and a strangled cry escaped her throat as she attempted to regain her self control.

-------

Hodgins looked at the results of the Mass Spec, funnily enough squinting at them to make sure they were correct. Leaded gas. A flash of déjà vu had Hodgins picturing Zach,

_"Leaded gasoline was phased out between 1975 and 1986."_ In that case, Booth and Brennan had found the kidnapped child in an abandoned gas station.

"Hodgins, have you found anything?" Brennan asked as she walked purposefully towards him. She looked haggard, hair out of place, eyes wild and a little red. He avoided making a comment about her appearance knowing that her only objective was to find Booth. After she had yelled at them for not keeping an eye on Booth when he was emotionally vulnerable, each of them had gone back to working on the case in more detail, as per her instructions. He still had no idea what the significance of his findings was and the FBI was being very unhelpful and even declined their help with finding Booth.

"Leaded gas on the remains of the clothes, but it was not used to burn the victim." He said handing her the file.

"Did anyone try to triangulate his position using his cell phone?" She asked walking quickly towards Angela's office.

"Um, not that I know of…"

"Angela!"

"Ya Sweetie, did you guys find something?" She looked from Brennan to Hodgins who looked confused.

"Ange, can you try to triangulate Booth's position from his cell phone?"

"Uh ya I can, but it's not going to be a narrow search, usually within around 75 square miles. And I'm sure someone at the FBI has done it already."

"Do it. And call me when you have something. Hodgins, I want you and Clark to go back to the original crime scene." Brennan said before leaving the office.

"What's going on?" Angela asked.

"I don't know." Hodgins said before going to find Clark.

---------

"Temperance? Andrew stopped in his tracks on his way to his office. "I thought you had left."

"I need Booth's personal file." Brennan said bluntly. She did not have time for small talk.

"What? I can't give you that without the proper clearance."

"I need that file in order to figure out where he is."

"Temperance, we are doing everything we can to try and find Booth. He is one of our best Agents, we don't want to lose him. But I can't get you his personal file, its classified."  
"You are the Assistant Deputy Director of the FBI, I don't care how you do it, get me that file!" Brennan said stubbornly, raising her voice.

"Temperance." Hacker tried to placate her.

"Don't call me Temperance!" Hacker stood in surprise for a moment before shaking it off. Obviously she wasn't going to be placated until Booth was found. He had been deluding himself into thinking that he stood a chance with Temperance, it finally hit him that there was no chance, she was Booth's and Booth was hers. He may not be as good an agent as Booth but he was still able to read people well and behind her stoic stubborn façade he could see how wild her eyes were, she needed Booth to be found.

"I'll see what I can do." He said quickly entering his office. Brennan followed. She stood with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently as he began to make calls requesting Booth's personal file.

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Booth clenched his teeth to prevent himself from crying out; he knew how much silence irritated torturers. Bile rose in his throat as he remembered how frustrated he got when a few of the prisoners he had been forced to torture stayed silent. He wasn't any better than these people. He had anticipated that the man in the dark suit had accomplices that would be able to get the drop of him. He had let them. He couldn't explain why if asked, but he did; it seemed like the right thing to do. They had stripped him down to just his boxers and hung him on hook by a rope tied around his wrists. His feet were dangling, exposed and the man in the dark suit was having a terribly fun time hitting the soles of his feet with pipes of different diameters.

"Perhaps we should try something else to get him to scream?" The man in the dark suit said with an evil smile, his accomplices grunted in approval. Booth squeezed his eyes shut, when he opened them again the man in the dark suit was standing in front of him with a large serrated knife.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks so much everyone for reading! Enjoy the last chapter, I hope its satisfying. :)**

Brennan sat on the floor of her office, all the notes from the case, Booth's personal file and anything that the FBI had concerning Booth's disappearance (that she had almost forcefully taken from Hacker) was spread around her. She had read through Booth's personal file and while he had told her a number of things that he had done in his past, he had obviously kept the worst a secret, and she couldn't help but be a little appalled that her Booth would be capable of such actions. Brennan rationalized his actions however; he was not a cold-blooded killer, he did what he did because he believed it was right and he felt guilty everyday for doing those things. He was a good man and Brennan knew she would defend him if anyone said differently. But looking at his personal file, she could point out a number of his victims whose families would want revenge.

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"Alright people, what do we know?" Cam asked as she paced Brennan's office an hour later.

"Booth's been missing for almost twenty hours." Angela said "And we weren't able to triangulate his position using his cell phone."

"There was leaded gas on the remains of the clothes" Hodgins continued. "And a few of Booth's footprints and a suspect's footprints that were fresh at the crime scene but none of them actually leading anywhere."

"The bones show that the only harm inflicted ante-mortem was the gun shot to the head." Clark said next. "The rest of the injuries seemed to result from being careless with the bones post-mortem."

"Booth used to do missions in which he would choose isolated rural abandoned buildings." Brennan said not looking at anyone. "There are several…." She had been about to say victims, "several people who were pre-adolescents at the time who would perhaps be seeking revenge. Sweets is doing psychological profiles on them with the information I gave him."

"So you think it's one of the kids wanting revenge for Booth…taking their father away?" Cam asked her.

"Yes. I believe that Booth may have done…some things…that could warrant such behavior."

"Okay, so I've narrowed it down to these two people." Sweets skipped any pleasantries he rushed into the office.

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"What's wrong Angie?" Hodgins asked, as he grabbed a stool and sat beside her, "You know, besides Booth being held hostage somewhere and everyone going nuts."

"I was just thinking, maybe…maybe we shouldn't go away for six months, maybe just two or three." Angela said not taking her eyes off her computer. She was looking for abandoned buildings around the crime scene. Hodgins put his arm around her waist.

"I was thinking the same thing." He responded.

"Really?" Angela asked suspiciously, turning to look at him.  
"Ya. I mean, Ange after this case, the thought of being away from everyone for so long just doesn't make sense." Angela nodded.

"I wanted a big romantic getaway for our honeymoon." Angela sighed; her plans never seemed to go the way she originally wanted them to.

"We could still have a big romantic getaway. Our own place in Paris, they have a lot of different types of cheese over there you know, and I know how much you love my grilled cheese." Angela laughed and Hodgins gave her a playful kiss on the cheek.

"Well we aren't going anywhere if we don't find Booth." She said seriously. "Bren would be crushed if…"

"Don't say it Ange." Hodgins interrupted. "We'll find him." Angela's computer beeped, loading a list of places around the crime scene that could potentially be used to hold a hostage and that fit the information that they had gathered.

"Bren!" Angela called. Brennan raced into the room, Cam and Sweets right behind her.

"What? What did you find?" Brennan looked at the list of places on the screen.

"Send it to the FBI immediately." She said grabbing her coat and exiting the room before anyone had a chance to say anything.

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Booth was clenching his teeth so hard he was giving himself a headache on top of all the other aches and pains he now had. He felt the man in the dark suit press the serrated knife against his back and managed to stifle the gasp that threatened to escape his throat. The knife was colder than he expected and the teeth were dull. The man in the dark suit had to cut him repeatedly in the same spot before he started to bleed. Booth could feel the blood slowly making its way down his back. He felt the blood begin to soak into his boxers and then continue slowly down his leg. He could feel the coldness of the blade against his skin again but he no longer felt any pain. He almost let out a chuckle at the thought of his Bones giving him a scientific explanation as to why he didn't feel the pain. He could feel his heart beating faster and it was becoming painful to breathe. Booth felt himself getting light-headed and only vaguely registered the man in the dark suit laughing at him. Suddenly the room filled with light and he saw a small sea of SWAT men run in. A woman rushed in with them, _she looks like Bones_ was his final thought before he passed out.

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Brennan sat on the edge of Booth's hospital bed. He had been unconscious for hours and her throat constricted at the thought of him in a coma. She wouldn't run however, she had convinced herself that no matter what happened when he woke up, she wouldn't run. They had spent so much time running and hiding when they could have been happy together. Suddenly Booth blinked.

"Bones?" He said weakly. "Wow, they must have given me a lot of morphine."

"I'm not a hallucination Booth. I'm here." Brennan replied, taking his hand in hers.

"Bones. You're really here." Booth confirmed, squeezing her hand.

"Yes." He didn't ask why she had come back after only a few days away.

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A week later, Booth and Brennan sat on his couch watching TV. He was still having some problems walking and his back was still sore but he was happier than he had been in a while. Angela and Hodgins had finally left for their honeymoon the day before after making it a point to tell them that it would only be three months not six. As content as they were, Booth and Brennan knew that they needed to have a talk about their relationship. Brennan had not gone back to Indonesia once he had woken up and been discharged; he had half-expected her to.

"Booth, we have to stop doing this." Brennan said abruptly.

"What?" He asked, taking his eyes off the TV and focusing on her. His brain was still a little foggy from being on intense painkillers. He had never reacted well to medication.

"Running away, hiding our feelings." He looked at her in surprise. He hadn't thought she would be the first to bring it up.

"I am tired of running and hiding Booth. The thought of not seeing you for a year caused an excess of adrenaline to enter my blood stream and I was unable to take proper breaths."

"You mean you panicked." Booth clarified, focusing intently on what she was saying.

"Yes. My point is that rationally or irrationally, it doesn't make sense for us to continue what we are doing. Even with my intellect I cannot begin to fathom how I would be able to proceed in life if I had not come back and you had died. Simply, I…" She took a deep breath before continuing. "I would…I don't think I would be able to compartmentalize, I would not be to…" She was interrupted by a sob that escaped her throat. Booth cupped her cheek and brushed away the errant tear rolling down her face.

"I get it Bones. It'd be the same for me if anything happened to you. It's why I worry so much. I can't help it." He whispered. Their eyes met, neither one was going to let the other pull away.

"I love you."


End file.
